"And now," said the hunter, "for my account of Nikkanochee.[4] I met
with him in Florida, his own country, when he was quite a child;
indeed he is even now but a boy, being not more than twelve or
thirteen years of age. The Seminole Indians, a mixed tribe, from whom
prince Nikkanochee is descended, were a warlike people, settled on the
banks of the River Chattahoochee. In a battle which took place between
the Indians and a party of whites, under Major Dade, out of a hundred
and fourteen white men, only two escaped the tomahawks of their
opponents. A Seminole was about to despatch one of these two, when he
suddenly called to mind that the soldier had once helped him in
fitting a handle to his axe. This arrested his uplifted weapon, and
the life of the soldier was spared."
[Footnote 4: This sketch is supposed to be a narrative of
facts, though the authority for it is not within the
publishers' reach.]
_Austin._ Noble! noble! If all the Seminoles were like him, they were
a noble people.
_Hunter._ The tribe had good and bad qualities; but I tell you this
anecdote, because it affords another proof that the hardy Indian
warrior, in the midst of all his relentless animosity against his
enemy, is still sensible of a deed of kindness. On another occasion,
when the Seminoles, to avenge injuries which their tribe had received,
wasted the neighbourhood with fire and tomahawk, they respected the
dwelling of one who had shown kindness to some of their tribe. Even
though they visited his house, and cooked their food at his hearth,
they did no injury to his person or his property. Other dwellings
around it were burned to the ground, but for years his habitation
remained secure from any attack on the part of the grateful Seminoles.
_Basil._ When I go abroad, I will always behave kindly to the poor
Indians.
_Hunter._ The father of Nikkanochee was king of the Red Hills, in the
country of the Seminoles; but not being very much distinguished as a
warrior, he gave up the command of his fighting men to his brother
Oseola, a chief famous for bodily strength and courage. Before the war
broke out between the Seminoles, Oseola was kind and generous; but
when once the war-cry had rung through the woods, and his tomahawk
had been raised, he became stern and implacable. He was the champion
of his nation, and the terror of the pale faces opposed to him.
_Brian._ He must have made terrible work with his tomahawk!
_Hunter._ No doubt he did, for he was bold, and had never been taught
to control his passions. The command of the Saviour had never reached
his ears: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to
them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and
persecute you." The red man of the forest and the prairie has had much
to embitter his spirit against his enemies; but I will proceed. It was
in the year 1835, that between two and three hundred red warriors
assembled at Camp King, to hold a "talk," or council. They were met by
a battalion of white soldiers, who had two generals with them. At this
council, it was proposed by the whites that a contract should be made
between the two parties, wherein the Seminoles should give up their
lands in Florida in exchange for other lands at a great distance from
the place. Some of the red warriors were induced to make a cross on
the contract as their signature, showing that they agreed therewith;
but Oseola saw that such a course was bartering away his country, and
sealing the ruin of his nation.
_Austin._ I hope he did not put his sign to it.
_Brian._ So do I, and I hope he persuaded all the rest of the red
warriors not to sign it.
_Hunter._ When they asked him in his turn to sign the contract, his
lip began to curl with contempt, and his eye to flash with fiery
indignation. "Yes!" said he, drawing a poniard from his bosom, with a
haughty frown on his brow. "Yes!" said he, advancing and dashing his
dagger while he spoke, not only through the contract, but also through
the table on which it lay; "there is my mark!"
_Austin._ Well done, brave Oseola!
_Brian._ That is just the way that he ought to have acted.
_Basil._ He was a very bold fellow. But what did the generals say to
him?
_Hunter._ His enemies, the whites, (for they were enemies,) directly
seized him, and bound him to a tree. This was done in a cruel manner,
for the cords cut deep into his flesh. After this, he was manacled and
kept as a prisoner in solitary confinement. When it was thought that
his spirit was sufficiently tamed, and that what he had suffered would
operate as a warning to his people, he was set at liberty.
_Austin._ The whites acted a cruel part, and they ought to have been
ashamed of themselves.
_Brian._ Yes, indeed. But what did Oseola do when he was free?
_Hunter._ Revenge is dear to every one whose heart God has not
changed. No wonder that it should burn in the bosom of an untaught
Indian. He had never heard the words of Holy Scripture, "Vengeance is
mine; I will repay, saith the Lord," Rom. xii. 19; but rather looked
on revenge as a virtue. Hasting to his companions, he made the forest
echo with the wild war-whoop that he raised in defiance of his
enemies.
_Brian._ I thought he would! That is the very thing that I expected he
would do.
_Hunter._ Many of the principal whites fell by the rifles of the
Indians; and Oseola sent a proud message to General Clinch, telling
him that the Seminoles had a hundred and fifty barrels of gunpowder,
every grain of which should be consumed before they would submit to
the whites. He told him, too, that the pale faces should be led a
dance for five years for the indignities they had put upon him. Oseola
and the Seminoles maintained the war until the whites had lost
eighteen hundred men, and expended vast sums of money. At last, the
brave chieftain was made prisoner by treachery.
_Austin._ How was it? How did they take him prisoner?
_Hunter._ The whites invited Oseola to meet them, that a treaty might
be made, and the war brought to an end. Oseola went with his warriors;
but no sooner had he and eight of his warriors placed their rifles
against a tree, protected as they thought by the flag of truce, than
they were surrounded by a large body of soldiers, and made prisoners.
_Brian._ That was an unjust and treacherous act. Oseola ought to have
kept away from them.
_Basil._ And what did they do to Oseola? Did they kill him?
_Hunter._ They at first confined him in the fort at St. Augustine, and
afterwards in a dungeon at Sullivan's Island, near Charleston. It was
in the latter place that he died, his head pillowed on the faithful
bosom of his wife, who never forsook him, and never ceased to regard
him with homage and affection. He was buried at Fort Moultrie, where
he has a monument, inscribed "Oseola." His companions, had they been
present at his grave, would not have wept. They would have been glad
that he had escaped from his enemies.
_Austin._ Poor Oseola!
_Hunter._ This is only one instance among thousands, in which the red
man has fallen a victim to the treachery and injustice of the whites.
It is a solemn thought, that when the grave shall give up its dead,
and the trumpet shall call together, face to face, the inhabitants of
all nations to judgment; the deceitful, the unjust and the cruel will
have to meet those whom their deceit, their injustice and cruelty have
destroyed. Well may the oppressor tremble. "The Lord of hosts hath
purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out,
and who shall turn it back?"
_Basil._ But you have not yet told us of Nikkanochee. Please to let us
hear all about him.
_Brian._ Ay; we have forgotten Nikkanochee.
_Hunter._ I will now tell you all that I know of him; but I thought
you would like to hear of his uncle, he being so famous a warrior.
Nikkanochee is called Oseola Nikkanochee, prince of Econchatti, in
order that he may bear in mind Oseola, his warlike uncle, and also
Econchatti-mico, king of the Red Hills, his father. It is thought
that Nikkanochee was born on the banks of the river Chattahoochee. He
can just remember the death of his mother, when he was left alone with
her in a wigwam; but what I have to tell you about Nikkanochee took
place during the lifetime of his father, and his uncle Oseola. The
white men being at war with the Seminoles, the war-men of the latter
were obliged to band themselves together to fight, leaving their
squaws and children to travel as well as they could to a place of
safety. Nikkanochee, child as he was, travelled with the women through
the pine forests night and day; but a party of horse-soldiers overtook
them, and drove them as captives towards the settlements of the
whites.
_Brian._ Ay! now Nikkanochee is a prisoner! What is to become of him
now?
_Hunter._ The mothers were almost frantic. The wigwams they saw on the
road had been destroyed by fire, and the whole country had been
devastated. At nightfall they came to a village; and here, when it
grew dark, Nikkanochee, a little girl and two Indian women made their
escape. For some days they fled, living on water-melons and Indian
corn, till they fell in with a party of their own war-men, and among
them was Nikkanochee's father.
_Austin._ I hope they were safe then.
_Hunter._ Not being numerous, they were obliged to retreat. Pursued by
their enemies, they fled, sometimes on horseback, and sometimes on
foot; a part of the way through the swamps, thickets and pine forests.
At night, while the party were sitting round a fire, in the act of
preparing for refreshment some dried meat, and a wild root of the
woods reduced into flour, an alarm was given. In a moment they were
obliged once more to fly, for their enemies were upon their track.
_Brian._ Dreadful! dreadful!
_Hunter._ The fire was put out by the Indians, their blankets hastily
rolled up, and the squaws and children sent to hide themselves in the
tangled reeds and brushwood of a swamp, while the war-men turned
against the enemy. The Indians beat them off, but Econchatti-mico was
wounded in the wrist, a musket ball having passed through it.
_Brian._ Did Econchatti die of his wound?
_Hunter._ No; but he and the war-men, expecting that their enemies
would return in greater numbers, were again forced to fly. The dreary
pine forest, the weedy marsh, and the muddy swamp were once more
passed through. Brooks and rapid rivers were crossed by Econchatti,
wounded as he was, with his son on his back. He swam with one hand,
for the other was of little use to him.
_Austin._ Econchatti seems to be as brave a man as Oseola. Did they
escape from their enemies?
_Hunter._ While they were sitting down to partake of some wild turkey
and deer, with which their bows and arrows had furnished them during
their flight, their enemies again fell upon them. The Seminoles had,
perhaps, altogether two thousand warriors, with Oseola at their head;
but then the whites had at least ten thousand, to say nothing of their
being much better armed. No wonder that the Seminoles were compelled
to fly, and only to fight when they found a favourable opportunity.
But I must not dwell longer than necessary on my account; suffice it
to say, that, after all the bravery of the warriors, and all the
exertions of Econchatti, Nikkanochee once more fell into the hands of
the enemy.
_Basil._ Oh, that was terrible! I hoped he would get away safe.
_Brian._ So did I. I thought the white men would be tired of following
them into those dreary forests and muddy swamps.
_Austin._ How was it that Nikkanochee was taken?
_Hunter._ He was captured on the 25th of August, 1836, by some
soldiers who were scouring the country, and brought by them the next
day to Colonel Warren. Poor little fellow, he was so worn, emaciated
and cast down, that he could not be looked upon without pity. For
several weeks he hardly spoke a word. No tear, no sob, nor sigh
escaped him; but he appeared to be continually on the watch to make
his escape. The soldiers who had taken him prisoner declared that they
had followed his track full forty miles before they came up to him.
From the rising to the setting of the sun they hurried on, and still
he was before them. Nikkanochee must then have been only about five or
six years old.
_Basil._ Why, I could not walk so far as forty miles to save my life.
How did he manage it?
_Hunter._ You have not been brought up like an Indian. Fatigue and
hardship and danger are endured by red men from their earliest
infancy. The back to the burden, Basil. You have heard the saying,
"God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb." When the soldiers came up to
Nikkanochee, he darted into the bushes and long grass, where they
found him. At first, he uttered a scream; but, soon after, he offered
the soldiers a peach which he had in his hand, that they might let him
go. Placed on horseback behind one of the troopers, he was brought to
the military station.
_Brian._ They have him now, then, fast enough. I wonder what became of
Econchatti-mico, his father.
_Hunter._ That is not known. I should have told you that, in the
Seminole language, "Econ," means hill or hills; "Chatti," is red; and
the signification of "mico," is king: so that Econchatti-mico is, all
together, King of the Red Hills. The soldiers who captured Nikkanochee
disputed among themselves whether he ought not to be killed. Most of
them were for destroying every Indian man, woman, or child they met;
but one of them, named James Shields, was determined to save the boy's
life, and it was owing to his humanity that Nikkanochee was not put to
death.
_Brian._ That man deserves to be rewarded. I shall not forget James
Shields.
_Hunter._ When Nikkanochee had afterwards become a little more
reconciled to his situation, he gave some account of the way in which
he was taken. He said, that as he was travelling with his father and
the Indians, the white men came upon them. According to Indian
custom, when a party is surprised, the women and children immediately
fly in different directions, to hide in the bushes and long grass,
till the war-men return to them after the fight or alarm is over. Poor
little Nikkanochee, in trying to cross a rivulet, fell back again into
it. Besides this misfortune, he met with others, so that he could not
keep up with the party. He still kept on, for he saw an old coffee-pot
placed on a log; and Indians, in their flight, place things in their
track, and also break off twigs from the bushes, that others of their
tribe may know how to follow them. Nikkanochee came to a settlement of
whites, but he struck out of the road to avoid it. He afterwards
entered a peach orchard, belonging to a deserted house, and here he
satisfied his hunger. It was then getting dark, but the soldiers saw
him, and set off after him at full gallop. In vain he hid himself in
the grass, and lay as still as a partridge, for they discovered him
and took him away.
_Austin._ I wonder that Econchatti-mico, his father, or the brave
Oseola, his uncle, did not rescue him.
_Hunter._ It is thought that they did return upon the back trail, for
the place they had been in was shortly after surrounded by Indians,
with Oseola at their head; but just then a reinforcement of soldiers
arrived, and the Indians were obliged to retire. Had not the soldiers
come up just in time, the whole garrison might have fallen by the
rifles and scalping-knives of enraged Seminoles. Nikkanochee passed a
year with the family of Colonel Warren, and was beloved by them all
There was, no doubt, much sympathy felt for him, as the nephew of a
well-known warrior, and the son of the king of a warlike people.
Nikkanochee was afterwards taken under the protection of a gentleman,
who became much attached to him. He was educated with other children,
and taught to bend the knee in prayer, and to offer praise to the King
of kings and Lord of lords. Thus, in the providence of God, was
Nikkanochee brought from being a heathen to be a worshipper of the
true God and Jesus Christ.
_Brian._ How much longer did he remain abroad?
_Hunter._ A very few years, during which he became expert in climbing,
swimming, loading the rifle, and using the spear. He was bold enough
to attack the raccoon and otter, and was not afraid even of the
alligator; few of his age were more hardy, or could bear an equal
degree of fatigue. His kind protector, who adopted him as his own
child, took him over to England in the year 1840. But I have given you
a long account. May Nikkanochee become as celebrated for virtue and
piety as his ancestors and relations were for valour and war.
[Illustration: Resting place for the Dead.]